The ICC Banking Commission conducted its final meeting of 2024 virtually via Teams on 20-21 November. Four separate portions of the event open to Banking Commission members and ICC National Committee representatives took place.
Natural gas company GAIL Limited, in coordination with Axis Bank, has announced it is the first Indian corporate to go live with SWIFT India’s e-bank guarantee (e-BG) solution that will dramatically reduce the time needed for implementing bank guarantees.
According to its 23 May 2023 press release, the e-BG will permit GAIL to “have ISO based messaging standards for issuance, amendment and invocation of e-BGs in a seamless and secure way [and] allow quicker turnaround times than traditional paper-based methods.”
SWIFT India Domestic Services (SWIFT India) is a joint venture created by SWIFT and a consortium of 11 banks with a presence in India. Said SWIFT India CEO, Shri Kiran Shetty, of the landmark e-BG use: “We are delighted that GAIL & Axis Bank have implemented digital e-Bank Guarantee solution, by using the globally established trade ISO standards, for the 1st time in India, thru us. With GAIL’s commitment towards digitisation, this solution will eliminate the need to use paper – a great step towards ESG. More importantly, it will enable straight thru processing that will enhance security and speed, leading to ease of doing business and accelerating economic outcomes.”
